Mirielle's Cross
by Anikka
Summary: Somewhere in the world there exists a Key that will unlock something that the world has never seen before. So who do you go to the find something like that? Perhaps some retrieval specialists with a 100 success ratio ...


Title : Mirielle's Cross  
Author : Matantei Anikka  
Series : GetBackers  
Pairings : Various  
Rating : Heavy R  
Summary : Somewhere in the world there exist fragments of a Key that will unlock something that the world has never seen before. So who do you go to to find something like that? Some retrieval specialists with a 100% success rate perhaps ... 

Disclaimers : GetBackers is owned by Rando Ayamine & Yuuya Aoki . Not me.

Warnings : Violence/Gore, language, religious context, sexual situations, Yaoi, Het and maybe some Yuri. I haven't decided yet.

Notes : This takes place sometime after episode 39 of the anime, when Ginji falls off the roof and everyone comes to visit him in the hospital. I loved that episode. So funny. I've kept cannon until that specific episode, but after that it might as well be an AU. I haven't read any of the manga yet either, so if I'm screwing something up really badly please let me know. I've pretty much decided on pairings, but at this point I'm still open to suggestion.

**  
Prologue : The woman who was loved.**

  
There was nothing in the world more beautiful than the sound of her voice.

Every time he tried to think of the right words to describe it he fell short. Nothing in either the mortal or immortal realms could hold itself to the lilting harmony that passed through her delicate lips. Whether she was laughing or scolding, he could have been captivated for hours just sitting and listening.

Today she was humming, and the sound of it made his heart soar. It was a nameless, directionless tune that bent to her fanciful will. When he entered her dimly lit chambers, he found her dancing and twirling to the made up melody, mimicking the ballerina's she had become so fond of lately. A cliched shaft of sunlight spotlighted her from above, filtering through a crumbling hole in the domed ceiling. He imagined that if she could she would have dropped everything to become one of those willowy creatures of rare human grace.

He stopped in the doorway, taking in the sight of her. Whenever he was near her he couldn't help but think of how there would never be anything in creation to match the perfection of his Lady. He would die for her happiness without a second thought. His was a life of unwavering, loyal servitude to a mistress of unequaled power and beauty. 

"You don't have to stand in the doorway Garan. Come, tell me you have good news old friend."

Startled from his quiet admiration, the man nearly jumped before he quelled the reaction. It would look foolish for someone of his reputation to be easily influenced by such a fragile looking beauty. Regaining his composure, Garan made smooth, even strides towards her, head held at an appropriate height that combined pride with servitude. When he reached a respectful distance, he fluidly dropped to a knee and bowed.

"My Lady Mirielle," he kept his eyes to the floor, "I've come back to you with most interesting news. News that I'm sure you will like."

Garan could almost hear her growing smile. She loved to hear good news, and he loved to bring it to her; it had been so long since they had made any progress that she would most certainly be ecstatic when he told her.

"Please tell me then," she replied, the excitement in her voice made him shiver, "But you must stand my dear Garan. The floor is no place for my most trusted of protectors."

"As you wish Lady Mirielle." He rose as gracefully as he bent knee, straightening himself to the perfect model of an obedient soldier.

When he stood he towered over the girl by at least two feet, and his plated armor with the massive shoulder guards made him seem like some invincible giant. A snowy white half cloak draped over his left side, partially obscuring a great helm sculpted in the likeness of a dragon that he cradled in his arm.

"Tell me your news Garan," she asked him again, "I am dying to hear it. What have you found?"

He wanted to smile at her enthusiasm, but he kept up a neutral expression. "We may have discovered the last two fragments of the Key, Lady Mirielle. As you suspected, those vile demons are still in possession of one piece. I took the Holy Four with me to one of their nests and we slaughtered most of them. However, a few survivors managed to slip away, and with them the fragment."

"You failed," she stated cooly, though he smile never left, "But we have them on the run. That is good Garan. How many of those black hearts survived? Fifty? A hundred?"

"Only three Lady Mirielle. One of them is an old man and one was mortally wounded. I suspect their numbers will be dropping rapidly in the near future."

She blinked and her expression changed fractionally, but Garan couldn't identify the emotion. "Only three? Well, you and the others did very fine work then. I have no doubt that you will be able to track them down and destroy them. What of the second fragment my friend?"

"The second we have only heard a whisper of a rumor about, but I have Shii working on it. If anyone can find out the truth behind the rumor, it is him. He's due to report to me by the end of the week."

Shii was very good at finding out information that no one else could, and Garan had a lot of faith in his underling. He just hoped that the boy would work faster than their enemies.

"There is yet another piece of information that I'm sure will make you happy my lady."

"More good news? My dear, you have been productive these last few weeks."

This time he allowed himself a small smile. Seeing her so happy was a reward all in itself. "It is possible that we have found a host candidate for Quill."

Her clear blue eyes widened with a sort of happy shock, and she let out a cry of joy. "Really and truly Garan? A receptive host for Quill? Oh, that would be most wonderful. His spirit is so lonely these days, floating around with no one to play with him. Oh how he misses flying through the clouds Garan, and plunging into the oceans to catch fish. I miss him so."

He hoped that this new host would be suitable for Mirielle's most precious of companions. The last time they had tried to give Quill a new body the trauma of it had torn the host into pieces. This time they had been very thorough in their selection.

"We still require some time to observe the subject, to make sure that it will work. But if all goes according to plan you shall have Quill at your side again when we free you from your prison." 

Anger suddenly welled up in his heart. That tended to happen everytime he thought about how his beautiful mistress had been so cruelly confined to this desolate tower in the wretched mortal realm. Those demons and their foul magics had prevented Mirielle from finishing her divine work, trapping her in this horrible prison that was driving her mad. Every time he visited her she seemed a little less stable. Today he was heartened to see that she was functioning almost normally. 

He unconsciously clenched his mailed fists, cursing the demons under his breath so the Lady couldn't hear the terrible words. Garan had vowed to Mirielle that even if took his last breath, he would destroy every last one of those cowardly bastards He would do it all for her happiness.

"Freedom," she repeated, a lazy smile on her face, "Wonderful freedom. We will dance when I get out of here, yes Garan?"

He nodded. "Yes Lady Mirielle. We will all dance."

"I will dance on the deepest lake, with Quill watching and catching fish. And all the little lambs will be there to say how I am the most beautiful of dancers."

"The most beautiful," he agreed, "And the most graceful. They will come from all over to watch you dance for them."

"Everyone will come," she suddenly moved away, twirling delicately on bare toes with her slender arms outstretched, "Every single one will come to dance and to love me."

*_They will dance for you Mirielle_* he made a solemn vow to himself *_Or they will die for you_.*

  
**********

  
Ferret took a long drag from his cigarette, held it briefly, and then snorted the smoke irritably out of his nostrils. He was quite possibly in the worst mood he'd ever been in in his life. Glancing over at his companion, he frowned.

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

The old man shrugged and adjusted his spectacles with a quick flick of his wrist. "Do you have any better suggestions Ferret?"

He made a face and looked down into the streets of Shinjuku from their roost in the upper abandoned buildings of the monstrosity known as Mugenjou. It had been Hijiri's idea to hide out in this strange half real city for a little while, and he had to admit that it was a smart move. They wouldn't be able to track the pair of them in here, and it would give them time to think of a plan. They'd run into a few uncooperative individuals who claimed to be the rulers of this 'Babylon City', but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. Ferret was becoming quite proficient at running and hiding.

But now that they had a place to regroup for an indeterminable amount of time, Hijiri was already talking about leaving. It seemed the old man had been thinking about plans without asking him for some input. 

"We can't rely on mortals for something this important Gramps," he said as he flicked ashes from his cigarette blindly into the air, "And I don't care what their success ratio is. It's our responsibility."

"Two of us cannot hope to stand against Garan and his Holy Four. You might be that confident in yourself, but I certainly am not."

Ferret watched the ashes play on a stray air current for a few seconds before they started floating down into the dark pits of wooden rafters and steal beams. Until recently they had been three, but the woman had succumbed to the chest wound only hours ago.

"We could just stay here, in Mugenjou. You know they won't come in here."

Immortals tended to hate the feeling of the place. It was just so unnatural that even the angels and the demons couldn't stomach it for long periods of time.

"Perhaps we would be safe for a little while," Hijiri mused, staring off at the Shinjuku skyline, "But sooner or later they would figure it out. 'Where do you run when you don't want the angels to find you?' Just because they don't like it in here it doesn't mean they won't come in. Especially when they're after something so precious to their mistress."

The old man's left hand absently touched the breast pocket of his heavy wool coat, where Ferret knew he kept the fragment.

They weren't safe here. They weren't safe anywhere. Hijiri was right; it was only a matter of time. Garan was a smart one, he would figure it out eventually.

"I still don't understand why you want to do this," he said stubbornly, "We're not even sure if the second piece really is -"

"Even if it's not true, we've got to check it out boy," Hijiri was adamant, "Do you want them to get another piece of Mirielle's Key? As long as we hold one we have an upper hand, but if we were to have two ..."

" ... they'd get both of them when they finally track us down?" Ferret suggested dully, hardly impressed with the idea.

Hijiri turned to look at him, scowling from behind his tinted wire-rimmed glasses, "No Einstein. If we had two pieces, we could destroy them both. Then they would never free her, and the angels lose."

"..." the boy blanched, "... I ... don't think I'm following."

The older man sighed and shook his head. "Of course you aren't, because you don't know what I know."

"Do I get to know what you know?"

"Not yet," he replied, "I'm not even sure if it would work, so I need a second piece of the Key to find out for sure. You're just going to have to trust me."

Ferret was not impressed with the explanation, but all he could do was sigh and shrug his compliance. "Fine, we'll do this your way. But I swear to Lucifer that if you don't have a good plan I'm going to flay you and make you wear a suit of your own skin." [1]

The threat prompted a laugh from Hijiri, who stood from his rafter seat and stretched. "I'll try to keep that in mind kid. So if everything has been decided, why don't we get going? There are meetings that need to be arranged and I'm starving. How about a bite to eat?"

A feral grin spread across Ferret's pale lips as he tossed his cigarette over the side. "Why I do believe that's the best idea you've had all night Hijiri."

An ominous quiet fell over the unfinished sky scrapers of Mugenjou as the pair melted away into the darkness, permeated only by a low, hungry snarl.

  


To Be Continued ....

  
[1] - This is a threat often given to me by my friend Sikona. If she says it to you, it means she likes you =3

More Notes : I know this was short, but it's only a prologue. I have to have some mystery, now don't I? The next chapters will be longer, and I promise that the Get Backers and associates will show up as well. So are you intrigued yet? Want to find out what the hell is going on? Well then you'll just have to keep reading, won't you!! Mwua ha ha ha ha.

Next Chapter : HEVN rounds everyone up at Honky Tonk for a strange meeting with prospective clients, MakubeX thinks his subordinates need a vacation, and Natsumi makes a new friend. The next chapter is : The Literal Request from Hell! Look forward to it.  



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